Bookmarks - TV shows converge on theme of author

Published: Sunday, October 13, 2013 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, October 11, 2013 at 2:53 p.m.

A TV series version of "The Returned," the well-reviewed new novel by Columbus County native Jason Mott, is premiering in March on ABC.

This show won't be called "The Returned," though. It will be titled "Resurrection."

The A&E cable channel, home of "Duck Dynasty," is meanwhile introducing its own series called "The Returned," with debut date to be announced. It will be based not on Mott's book, but on a hit French TV series that in turn was based on a 2004 French cult film.

Both Mott's book and the French show deal with the dead coming back to life – not as zombies but as their living, breathing former selves. They try to go home, which causes trouble.

Coincidence? Mott swears it is.

"I didn't even find out about the French show until after my book was sold" last year, Mott said recently. "It's an idea that a lot of people are hitting on at the same time."

A Japanese film is also using the dead-come-back motif, Mott noted, as well as two self-published novels due for publication next year. A comics buff, Mott was chagrined to find that he'd also missed a similarly themed graphic novel, "Revival," which came out last year from Image Comics.

"I think it's an outgrowth of the whole zombie phenomenon," Mott added. "People are starting to get tired of zombies, and they're taking the idea to the next level."

Behind that, he said, is a growing fascination with the afterlife in popular culture, reflected in the spate of ghost-hunting and paranormal-activity reality shows scattered around cable television.

Mott will talk about this and other background on "The Returned" on Monday, when he's the guest at Prologue, the monthly book-club program co-sponsored by the StarNews and public radio station WHQR.

The program begins at 7 p.m. in the WHQR gallery, upstairs at 254 N. Front St. Mott will field questions from readers and sign copies of "The Returned," available courtesy of Two Sisters Bookery. Admission is free, and refreshments will be served.

Mott, who's just back from a 19-city tour, said readers seem to have a visceral reaction to his book.

"People will come out and just talk about very personal things," he said, "about relatives or people they've loved and lost."

<p>This gets confusing.</p><p>A TV series version of "The Returned," the well-reviewed new novel by Columbus County native Jason Mott, is premiering in March on ABC.</p><p>This show won't be called "The Returned," though. It will be titled "Resurrection."</p><p>The A&E cable channel, home of "Duck Dynasty," is meanwhile introducing its own series called "The Returned," with debut date to be announced. It will be based not on Mott's book, but on a hit French TV series that in turn was based on a 2004 French cult film.</p><p>Both Mott's book and the French show deal with the dead coming back to life – not as zombies but as their living, breathing former selves. They try to go home, which causes trouble.</p><p>Coincidence? Mott swears it is.</p><p>"I didn't even find out about the French show until after my book was sold" last year, Mott said recently. "It's an idea that a lot of people are hitting on at the same time."</p><p>A Japanese film is also using the dead-come-back motif, Mott noted, as well as two self-published novels due for publication next year. A comics buff, Mott was chagrined to find that he'd also missed a similarly themed graphic novel, "Revival," which came out last year from Image Comics.</p><p>Mott said he doesn't think anybody is deliberately copying anyone else. </p><p>"I think it's an outgrowth of the whole zombie phenomenon," Mott added. "People are starting to get tired of zombies, and they're taking the idea to the next level."</p><p>Behind that, he said, is a growing fascination with the afterlife in popular culture, reflected in the spate of ghost-hunting and paranormal-activity reality shows scattered around cable television.</p><p>Mott will talk about this and other background on "The Returned" on Monday, when he's the guest at Prologue, the monthly book-club program co-sponsored by the StarNews and public radio station WHQR.</p><p>The program begins at 7 p.m. in the WHQR gallery, upstairs at 254 N. Front St. Mott will field questions from readers and sign copies of "The Returned," available courtesy of Two Sisters Bookery. Admission is free, and refreshments will be served.</p><p>Mott, who's just back from a 19-city tour, said readers seem to have a visceral reaction to his book.</p><p>"People will come out and just talk about very personal things," he said, "about relatives or people they've loved and lost."</p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic14"><b>Ben Steelman</b></a>: 343-2208</p><p>Ben.Steelman@StarNewsOnline.com</p>